(Eerie music)
(Male presenter, off)
there is a fifth dimension
Beyond that
whichis known to man.
It is a dimension
as vast as space
And as timeless as infinity.
It is the middle ground
between light and shadow.
Between science
and superstition.
And it lies
between the pit of man's fears
And the summit
of his knowledge.
This is the dimension
of imagination.
It is an area which we call
The twilight zone.
[Car braking
and engine revving]
[Horn biaring]
When you're
f in ish ed, mister.
How about
some service?
When it's qu I et.
[Sighs]
I'm sorry.
F I ll it up,
will you?
Sure.
(Male presenter, off)
martin sloan, age 36.
Occupation, vice president,
ad agency, in charge of media.
This is not just
a sunday drive
for martin sloan
He perhaps doesn't
know it at the time,
but it's an exodus.
Somewhere up the road,
he's looking for sanity
And somewhere up the road
he'll find something else.
O I l chang e and lu be job.
That what you want?
Yeah.
Take about an hour.
It's all right.
I'm in no hurry.
That's hom ewood
u p ahead, isn't it?
Yep. About a m I le
and a half.
I used to live
in hom ewood.
G rew up there,
as a matter of fact.
Haven't been back
in 20, 25 years.
20, 25 Years.
Yesterday I just got
in the car and drove.
I had to get out
of new york city.
One more board meeting
phone call, report, problem
I would have j u m ped
right out the win dow.
That's walking distance,
isn't it?
Yeah. About a
m I le and a half.
Yeah, that's
walking distance.
Yeah? What'll it be?
I don't su ppose
you still make
Those great
chocolate sodas,
do you? Three scoops?
How's that?
Well, I spent half my life
in this drugstore.
G rew up here.
One thing I always
remember ordering
Was a chocolate soda
with three scoops.
It was only a di me!
You look familiar to me.
Have I seen you before?
I got that kind of face.
Oh.
It's been a long time,
20 years to be exact.
Wish I had a buck
For every hour
I sat at this fou ntai n--
G ram mar school right
th roug h third year high.
Town looks the same too.
Pretty amazing, you know?
20 Years to look
so exactly the sam e.
That'll be a di me.
A di me? Three scoops?
That's the way
we make 'em.
Well, you're going
to lose your sh I rt that way.
Nobody sells sodas
for a di me anymore.
They don't?
Where you from?
New york.
M m m.
That's a good soda.
Taste okay?
M m m, won derfu l.
You know, it's fu n ny
How many memori es
you con n ect with a place.
I always thought
if I ever came back here
Everything would be
all chang ed.
You know,
nothing recog n izable.
I nstead, it's just as I f,
Just as I f
I'd left yesterday.
Just as I f
I'd been away overnight.
I almost expect
mr. Wi lson to be
in the stockroom sleeping
Just like he always did
before he d*ed.
It's one
of the memori es I have
Old man wi lson--
May god rest his sou l.
Sleeping in his big
com fortable chair
In the other room.
Well,
Here you are.
Thanks a lot.
That's a buck.
Yeah.
It was worth it.
So long!
[Suspense music]
(Ciears throat)
Mr. Wi lson?
Yep, charlie?
We're going to need some
more chocolate syru p,
mr. Wi lson.
I'll order some more
of it this afternoon.
[Suspense music
and dogs barking]
Pau l cox, m ichael bradbu ry
Van bu ren, bru n i.
(Little boy)
hi.
Hi.
Hi.
Pretty good.
Magg I e's not bad.
[Sighs]
I used to play
marbles. We used
to give them special names.
The steele kind
we called those "steeli es",
The clear kind
that you could see th roug h
we called those "cleari es".
You still give
th em special names?
Sure.
I used to play
h I de and seek
over there.
We'd all ci rcle
around the old
man's back
And we used to pu nch it.
See that house?
Right across the street?
I used to live there.
Sloan house?
You still
call it that?
Still call it what?
Sloan house.
My name is sloan.
Martin sloan.
What's yours?
You're not marty sloan.
I know marty sloan
and you're not him!
Oh, I'm not?
Well, let's just see.
What the driver's
license says. Huh?
(Woman)
bobby, come down
from there. Bobby!
Bobby, listen to me.
Bobby?
Bobby, mind me.
Will you come down
from that tree?
Come on, bobby.
Bobby, listen to me.
Come on, get down.
Bobby!
That's a boy.
Come on. Right here.
What am I ever
going to do with you?
Ah, it's won derfu l,
isn't it?
The park?
Certain ly is.
All right, bobby.
That's part of summer, too.
Music from
the merry-go-rou n d,
the calliope.
And the cotton can dy,
the ice cream,
And the band concert.
Nothing qu ite
as good ever.
Nothing qu ite as good
as summer and being a ki d.
Are you from
around here?
No. Oh, what I mean is I
used to be a long time ago.
Lived a couple blocks away.
I played baseball
on that field over there
And that merry-go-rou n d--
oh, my goodn ess.
I grew up
with that merry-go-rou n d.
I carved my name on that post
on the ban dstand one summer.
I was 1 1 years old
and I carved my--
(Martin)
martin sloan.
You're martin sloan?
Yes, s I r, but I
di dn't mean nothing. Hon est.
Lots of kids
carve their name here.
No kidding.
I'm not the first.
You are martin sloan.
Of course you are.
That's the way I looked.
[Suspense music]
Marti n!
[Rings doorbeii]
Yes?
Yes? Whom do you
want to see?
Pop.
Woman:
who is it, robert?
Mom.
Is that mom?
Who are you?
What do you want?
Who is it?
You're both here.
How can
you be here?
What do you want,
you ng man?
Mom, don't you know me?
I'm marti n!
Marti n?
M ust be a lu natic
or something.
You m ustn't be frighten ed.
I grew up here, mom.
Don't you know
your own son?
[Bangs door]
(Young man)
hi.
Like it?
It's got a ru m ble seat.
It's been a long time s I nce
I've seen a ru m ble seat.
Where you been,
mister? S I beria?
Pop just bought me this.
First bran d-n ew car
I've ever own ed.
Th is? Bran d-n ew?
First of its kind
in the whole town.
Right out of detroit
yesterday morning.
Brand n ew?
34 Roadster?
Right out of detro it?
Brand n ew?
[Music intensifies]
[Distant bell tolling]
(Male presenter, off)
a man can think
a lot of thoughts
And walk a lot of pavements
between afternoon and night,
And to a man
like martin sloan,
To whom memory
has suddenly become reality,
A resolve can come just
as clearly and inexorably
As stars in the summer night.
Martin sloan
is now back in town
And his resolve is to put
a claim to his past.
Back again, huh?
I had to come
back, pop.
This is my house
and this is my glove.
You gave it to me
on my 1 1 th b I rth day.
And the baseball
autographed by lou gehrig.
Who are you?
What do you want here?
I don't know.
I just want to rest.
I want to stop ru n ning.
I-- I belong here.
Don't you u n derstand that?
I belong here.
Now, look,
you're probably s ick.
You're having
delus ions.
I don't want to h u rt you.
I don't want you
to get into trou ble.
But if you hang around here,
there may be trou ble.
(Woman)
robert?
(Woman)
who were you
talking to?
Mom! Look at me.
You have
a son named marti n,
haven't you?
He goes to em erson
pu blic school.
In the month
of aug ust he spen ds
At his au nt's farm
n ear bu ffalo.
A couple of summers
You've gon e
to saratoga lake,
Rented a cottag e there.
Once I had a s ister.
She d*ed when sh e
was a year old.
Where is marti n?
I'm marti n!
You've got
to believe me.
I'm marti n.
You've got to believe me!
Look, here are
my I dentif ication,
All my cards.
They'll tell you
who I am.
Look at them. Go on,
they'll tell you.
[Distant merry
go round music]
Marti n.
Marti n, I've got
to talk to you.
Marti n.
Marti n!
Martin.
[Merry go round music]
Marti n.
Marti n!
Martin!
Let me talk to you!
Let me tell you
something.
I don't want
to h u rt you, son.
I won't h u rt you.
(Martin)
I won't hurt you, son.
Marti n!
Martin!
Marti n!
Ow! My leg!
My leg!
Marti n!
Marti n.
I only wanted
to tell you
That this is a won derfu l
time of life for you.
Don't let any of it
go by without enjoying it.
There won't be
any more merry-go-rou n ds.
No more cotton can dy.
No more band concerts.
I only wanted to tell you
That this is
a won derfu l time for you.
Now. Here.
That's all, marti n.
That's all
I wanted to tell you.
God h elp me.
That's all
I wanted to tell you.
I thought you'd like to know
The boy
will be all right.
Doctor says he'll li m p some,
But he'll be all right.
Oh, thank god for that.
You dropped this
at the house.
I looked I nside it.
It tells a great
many things about you.
Your driver's license,
the cards, the money in it.
It seems
you are martin sloan.
You're 36 years old
And have an apartment
in new york city.
It says
your driver's license
exp I res in 1 960.
That's 25 years from now.
And the dates on the b I lls
Those dates haven't
happened yet either.
Then you--
you know, pop?
Yes, I know.
I know who you are.
I know you've come
from a long way from here.
A long way and a long time.
But I don't u n derstand
how or why.
Do you?
No.
But you do
know other things,
don't you, marti n?
Things that will happen.
Yes, I do.
Marti n.
Yes, pop?
You have to leave here.
There's no room,
there's no place.
Do you u n derstand that?
I see that now,
but I don't understand.
Why not?
I gu ess because we
only get one chance.
Maybe there's only one summer
to every custom er.
That little boy,
The one I know,
the one who belongs here,
This is his summer,
just as it was yours once.
Don't make him share it.
All right.
Martin.
Is it so bad
where you're from?
I thought so, pop.
I've been living
at a dead ru n,
and I was tired.
Then one day, I knew
I had to come back here.
I had to come back
and get on the merry-go-rou n d
And eat cotton can dy
and listen to a band concert.
And to stop and breath e
And close my eyes
and smell and listen.
I gu ess we all want that.
Maybe when you go back,
marti n, you'll f in d
That there are
m erry-go-rou n ds and band
concerts where you are.
Maybe you
haven't been looking
in the right place.
You've been looking
beh in d you, marti n.
Try looking ahead.
Maybe.
Goodbye, son.
Goodbye, pop.
[Cheerfui music]
Hi.
Oh.
Something for you?
U h.
How about a chocolate
ice cream soda
With three scoops?
Three scoops?
Sure I can make
one for you
With three scoops,
but it will be extra.
35 Cents, okay?
Oh, 35 cents, huh?
How about old ben wi lson
who used to own this place?
Oh, he d*ed
about 1 5, 20 years ago.
What kind of ice cream
do you want?
Chocolate? Vanilla?
Van I lla?
Oh, i-i've chang ed my mind
about the soda
If you don't mind.
[Groans]
These stools aren't made
for bum legs, are they?
Hey. Did you get that
du ring the w*r?
No.
Matter of fact, I got it
falling off a merry-go-rou n d
When I was a ki d, here.
And the freak thing--
Oh, a merry-go-round.
Hey, I remember.
They tore that down
a few years ago.
Condemned it.
A little late,
I guess, huh?
Huh?
A little late
for you, I mean.
Yeah, very late.
Very late for me.
(Male presenter)
martin sloan, age 36
Vice-president
in charge of media.
Successful in most things
but not in the one effort
That all men try
at some time in their lives.
Trying to go home again.
And also
like all men, perhaps
there will be an occasion,
Maybe a summer
night sometime,
When he'll look up
from what he's doing
And listen to the distant
music of a calliope
And hear the voices
and the laughter
Of the people
and the places
of his past.
And perhaps across his m ind
There will flit
a little errant wish
That a man m ight not
have to become old
Never outgrow the parks
And the merry-go-rounds
of his youth.
And he'll smile then too
Because he'll know
it is just an errant wish
Some wisp of memory
not too important really.
Some laughing ghost
That cross a man's m ind.
That are a part
of the twilight zone.
(Male presenter, off)
rod serling, the creator
of the twilight zone
Will tell you about
next week's story after
this word from our sponsor
And now, mr. Serling.
An excu rs ion into fantasy
on the twilight zone next week
As two disting u ish ed
actors, mr. Davi d wayn e
and mr. Thomas gom ez
Appear in "escape clause."
The story
of a strang e contract
between a mortal man
And his satan ic maj esty.
A contract that en ds
most su rprising ly.
We hope you'll be
around to see what
that surprise is.
Thank you and good night.
(Male presenter, off)
be sure to see
the fun filled family life
One of america's
greatest entertainers.
Danny thomas show,
monday nights, over
most of these stations.